leave bow strung while hunting?

[PaulLovesJamie]

When do you string your selfbows when hunting? 
I've been out twice now, mostly to enjoy the woods but happy to take my first deer with my new bow if a fat doe offered itself.  Noticed last night that my red oak board bow is taking on a more set, that caused me to wonder if you folks only string up these bows when you see game coming...

I'll probably just string it up & hunt anyway, maybe lose a few pounds in draw weight, or make more if I have to.  Thought I'd ask though.

[Pappy]

I usually string mine when shooting light gets there and unstring when I finish.If I hunt all day,any chance I get to give it a break I do but that is about it.  I usuall only hunt a 4 hours at a time
so haven't had much problem with it.
   Pappy

[Pat B]

When I'm building a bow and get near completion, I string it up and "sweat" it by leaving it strung for at least 2 hours and sometimes more. This will help to break in the bow but also tells me if it can take what it takes to be a hunting bow.
  I string my bow when I leave camp in the morning and unstring it when I near camp on the way out. Your hunting bow should be able to remain strung for 2 to 4 hours with little stress.   Pat

[TRACY]

I string my bows when I'm in hunt mode and unstring them at the end of my hunt.

Tracy

[a finnish native]

I have hunted for 12 hours straight on with my bow strung while it was about 7 degrees centigrade and raining. the bow took some set, but it was only monential. after leaving it alone for a few days it was like before the hunt. of course the bow must be well tillered.

[mysticguido]

I leave my bow strung for 4 hours at a time. Then I unstring it when I'm not in the hunting area or for a hour or 2, then string it again when I go back out/ after a brake.

[Gordon]

I leave my hunting bow strung all day - you never know when game will present itself.

[PaulLovesJamie]

wow, talk about fast answers!
sounds like I dont need to worry about it, thanks.   

[Hillbilly]

that caused me to wonder if you folks only string up these bows when you see game coming...

I don't know what kind of deer you have in your neck of the woods, but that sure wouldn't cut it here-the movement of drawing a bow is hard enough to hide from a deer, much less stringing it.  Sometimes you only get a couple of seconds window of opportunity to make a shot. I leave mine strung as long as I'm in the woods.

[Mechslasher]

i also leave mine strung for hours at a time.  you must know your bow well enough to understand how it shoots after being strung for hours.  bows loose a little cast over the hunt.  i miss calculated this on a recent hog hunt and missed low.  your bow also may tend to shoot to the right after a couple hours due to the loss of cast.  just some thoughts.

[Papa Matt]

I'm with Hillbilly. I string mine when I'm 50-100 yards from a tree line and don't unstring it until I'm out of the woods, or if it's a small enough woods where I know I've been through it all and there's no game, then I'll go ahead and take it off. But of course it's best if you can let your bow rest any chance you get. Just don't take unstringing your bow for a break, over having it strung-up and ready when supper comes walking up the trail, which you already know.

~~Matt

[PaulLovesJamie]

I don't know what kind of deer you have in your neck of the woods

Yeah, the same whitetails you have - nervous buggers.  From a couple stands I can see 'em coming down off the hill they bed on, so I have 5-10 minutes before they get into the thicker stuff where my stand is.  Also it struck me when reading "witchery of archery" that he would string his bow upon seeing game.

interesting that it will lose a little cast after a while, I should have thought about that. Darn, that means I need to pester the squirrels every hour or so while on stand to get a feel for that, gonna lose some arrows.  

[Mechslasher]

oops!  i meant to say, shoot to the left after a while not right.

[Kegan]

I break my bows in by leving them strung 12-24 hours after being tillered to brace height, and the taper is good, after reading that Paul Comstock used it on some of his marginal bows. Between that and hours and hours of shooting practice arrows, I figure leaving it strung all through the hunt isn't that big a detriment.

[El Destructo]

I'm with Kegan....when I finish a Bow...I String it to Brace...and leave it strung for 24 hours.......and when I go Hunting....I leave it strung all day long too.....but My Paddle Bows will take it no problem....